City or Urban v. Rural

From the rural side; 10 miles from any main road:

Our Village is 4 x 5 square blocks. 2 churches, 1 elementary school that is also thelibrary, one store that is also the post office and the township fire department. We keep our doors locked on everything and I am glad to have two medium large dogs around.

We had the biggest drug bust in our county ONE block from my home. 100,000.00 cash, 2 POUNDS of coke, I forget how much weed, all in a little trailer on a dead end street. The cops hauled away a guy about 64 and his kid for B. & E, possession of stolen property over 3,000.000 and asault with intent just over 3 blocks.

The neighbor hood hoods (all four of them, all under 15) threw firecrackers at the dogs in their pen. Not just ours, but even the german shepard on a chain. I went after them for it. The parents were quite good about it. They haven't been back.

Police and Feds (store is also USPS) still haven't found the 3 guys that bashed our storekeeper lady in the head with a ball bat. They cut the wires to the phone and the ADT security system first. They got away with the whole 8,000.00. Now we have live cameras and battery back ups all over the store.

That was all last fall.....now summer is here. Oh goodie!

On the other hand, I never knew we had a dealer, he laid pretty low. The town got together to raise money for doctor bills for the storekeeper, and the kid they hauled away is back. He lives across the street. We give them garden produce and our pop bottles because they have a little girl about 18 months old and only one of them has a job. We made sure they had holiday dinners, too. He helps pick the garden and keeps the riff raff from bothering us now.

I paid under 40,000.00 for a two story, three bedroom farm house with 3 small garages and 3 lots. That's 250 ft. plus by 160 ft. of yard. I have 3 gardens of flowers and one for food (cantalopes, watermelon, ruhbarb,strawberries!). 6 laps is about a mile. We feed the birds and in return they sing all day for us. The cats sun in the driveway or on the lawn and one is going on 10 next month without having to be an indoor cat. I can walk anywhere and feel safe. I know if I am laying in the garden with a heart attack that someone will check on me, probably before I kick the berry bucket over..

When I was recovering from surgury the neighbor behind us offered the use of the pool for arobic exercise. I have the key to another neighbors house when they are gone, in case of emergency.

My ride home every day takes me down lovely 2 lane roads with small homes chopped into the edges of large farms. There are swamps with great grey herons and small ponds with sand hill cranes. Several fields with horses and ponies decorate my drive. I see deer every day.

I can ride further into the country anytime I want. If I feel the urge for a genuine gyro or some Gun Powder Green Tea I etither make a day of it in the big city or find it online.

We only have dial up because the costs are too high on satilite hook up equipment yet but it works and it's a local call. Seven miles west my WI-FI on the laptop works.

I can't afford the payments on the 3 bedroom single story on a basement with a two and a half stall garage on 40 acres with a trout creek behind it that's about a mile up the gravel from us or I'd put a bid in on it.

So I'm probably as rural as I can afford to be and I will be in this place the rest of my life. I have lived in Chicago, Denver, Columbia, MO, and been to Miami, Boca, Boston and Indianapolis.

I'm good, Thanks.